The Summer of Tomatoes

I guess you could say I went tomato crazy this summer.  I grew close to 100 heirloom tomato plants from seed and ended up planting 6 different varieties in the garden.  I selected plants that could stand up to the high heat and humidity of my region (7b) -- German Johnson, German Giant, Black from Tula, Black Cherry, Eva's Purple Ball, and Virginia Sweets.  So how did they do?

The Germans, Black from Tula, and Black Cherry were without question the most productive.  Nonstop blooming and ripening from mid June continuing into August.

You just can't beat the shape, color, and flavor of heirloom tomatoes.

What about size?  I harvested three tomatoes over 2.5-pounds, and one German Giant was just 3-ounces shy of the 3-pound mark!  I saved seeds from these monsters and I'm already looking forward to planting them next spring.

Clockwise from top left: Virginia Sweets (41.0 ounces), German Johnson (42.2 ounces), and German Giant (45.1 ounces).

My wife and I have been eating freshly sliced tomatoes, tomato salad, BLTs, pasta sauce, and every other tomato recipe you can imagine for the past 3 months.  I think I'm starting to turn red...

Note the quarter placed on the top-right tomato for scale.

Enjoy the pics as much as we enjoyed the tomatoes.